By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – After serving in many roles at multiple Shelby County schools over a 30-year span, Alabaster resident Ron Griggs said he has built up many connections with a community he is now looking to serve.

Griggs recently announced his candidacy to replace fellow Alabaster resident Daniel Acker Sr. in the District 4 seat on the Shelby County Commission.

Griggs announced his candidacy shortly after Republican qualifying began for the 2016 county elections on Oct. 5. District 4 includes portions of Pelham and Alabaster from Valleydale Road to Alabama 119 and along U.S. 31 and Interstate 65.

As of Oct. 19, Griggs, Vineyard Family Services Director Ward Williams and Alabaster resident Gene Rowley had announced plans to run for the commission spot.

During an Oct. 19 phone interview, Griggs said he decided to run after speaking with Acker, his longtime friend who recently announced he will not seek another term on the commission.

“Mr. Acker and I have known each other since 1971. If given the chance, I hope to be able to come close to matching his accomplishments in that (commission) role,” Griggs said.

If elected, Griggs said he will be serving alongside some of his former students from his 30-year stint at nearly all levels of education in Shelby County.

After Griggs moved to Shelby County in 1971, he became a coach and a teacher at Thompson High School in 1974 before filling the same roles at Pelham High School from 1977 through 1987. From 1987 through 1993, Griggs worked at Shelby County High School, where he worked his way up to the assistant principal position. From Shelby County High, he moved back to THS, where he served as assistant principal and then principal before retiring in 2005. He currently is an insurance agent with The Insurance Store on U.S. 31 in Alabaster.

If elected, Griggs said he plans to “listen to the needs of the community” before evaluating the best way to go about addressing those needs.

“This is a golden opportunity to continue doing what I’ve been doing most of my life,” Griggs said.

Griggs and his wife, Cathy, live in Alabaster, and have three children: Chris, Chad and Catherine. His father, Roy, was the longtime pastor of Siluria Baptist Church.